The Power of Pride
by Kraye
Summary: Sasuke has finally returned to Konoha after defeating Uchiha Madara. His wounds have healed, but Madara has damaged him mentally. Sasuke knows he's going to die... but can he let go of his pride and apologize to everyone he's hurt? Can they forgive him?
1. Konohagakure

Sasuke fell onto his hands and knees... again. He was worn out from his fight with Uchiha Madara. _I have to make it back to Konoha... even if just to apologize..._ he thought. He forced himself to stand up and took a few steps. He braced himself on a tree. It had carvings in it, an arrow with kanji that had long been worn away.

_You have to be patient if you want to reach your goals_, he remembered Madara saying. He frowned. Madara's words aren't important. He knew he was dying.

He placed one foot in front of the other, focused on moving forward, nothing else. Before he knew it, he heard the familiar sounds of the village. He finally collapsed in front of the gate.

"Huh? Are you okay?" the gatekeeper said. Sasuke recognized Izumo's voice. Kotetsu must be there too.

"I need… to speak… to the hokage," he whispered.

"I'm the hokage," a familiar voice spoke up. Sasuke looked up weakly. Naruto was so old now. He looked so mature.

Naruto recognized him right away. "Uchiha… Uchiha Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

Sasuke smiled weakly. "Naruto…," Sasuke fought his pride, but he lost his battle and he sighed. His head flopped to the ground and he let his body rest… finally.

When he woke up, his body was aching. He sensed someone watching him and opened his eyes. A doctor with pink hair stood at the foot of his bed… a hospital bed.

"Sakura?" he whispered. She only looked at him, then turned and left. He touched his chest, it was bandaged. _Why would they help me?_ He wondered. His body ached in agony.

Another person came in. Sasuke swallowed. "Hokage-sama…"

Naruto smiled sadly. Sasuke noticed his eyes. They were so different. They used to be so full of life, dedication. Now, they're only full of duty. Duty! Since when has Naruto ever followed the rules? They were so empty now… so dead. _Is it my fault?_

"Naruto… I'm still Naruto to you, Sasuke… please don't call me Hokage."

"But you are the Hokage… your dream… you finally made it," Sasuke said, even though it hurt his chest to speak.

"Sasuke… I want to tell you… I'm sorry I gave up on you so many years ago… I'm sorry I couldn't save you from your darkness… I will bear that burden alone… I'm sorry for not being able to help you… my best friend," Naruto said, turning for the door.

The door slid open and Ino came in, followed closely by Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked older as well. He looked tough, merciless, though Sasuke knew he had a good heart.

"Sasuke… it's really you!" Ino cried out. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke, stricken. Shikamaru touched Ino's forearm reassuringly. Ino composed herself and nodded. She exited silently.

Naruto exited silently, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts.

_Everything is so changed. Everyone is so changed. They're all strangers now. Maybe coming here wasn't a good idea after all. Why are you such an idiot, Sasuke? Why didn't you let Naruto save you? I let everyone down. Even Itachi because of my pride… and I couldn't even apologize to Naruto! I put him through all that pain and couldn't even apologize!_ Sasuke slammed his fist on the bedside table, angry at himself.

"Yo!" he heard a voice that made him perk up. He automatically looked at the window… of course. Kakashi was standing in the window.

"Kakashi…" Sasuke said nervously. Kakashi was totally unchanged except for the fact that he didn't have a make-out book with him… obviously, and he had aged a lot. Stress has taken its toll. Sasuke wondered if that was his fault too. Kakashi still had the same alert but bored eyes. His silver hair was more silvery than Sasuke remembered.

"Why did you come back?" Kakashi asked, straight to the point no one else dared to bring up. Sasuke shrugged helplessly.

"Kakashi… you once said it was your job to kill me… well, now's your chance," Sasuke said seriously. Kakashi shook his head. "You never understood did you?"

"What?"

"I said that… Sakura said that… Even Naruto said that all because you were our friend. We didn't want you to fall so low," Kakashi explained, "I know why you came here." Sasuke gasped quietly to himself.

"And I'm sure Naruto has already apologized… but," Kakashi narrowed his eye, "Don't hurt Naruto again. He's finally reached his dream, but he still bears the burden of his best friend. He's not happy about it. I can tell he thinks of you every day."

"It's been nine years—" Sasuke protested.

"And have you forgotten Itachi? And it's been eighteen years have you forgotten your parents? Your clan? You're still so naïve, Sasuke," Kakashi interrupted. Sasuke didn't reply.

Kakashi gave him one last lingering glance and poofed. Sasuke couldn't ignore that feeling of guilt deep in his gut.

I kind of changed it :P and updated another chapter at least ^-^


	2. Sakura

Sasuke knew he was going to die. The injuries he suffered from Madara were too severe. Even though his wounds outside were healing, his mind was dying. Madara's power was slowly overtaking him. He had a dream about his past. Itachi was the old Itachi again, with his façade of a smile. 'It's almost time to go, Sasuke,' he had said, 'I'll be waiting for you.'

The nurses and Sakura thought he was healing well, although Sakura wouldn't speak to him. He also knew if Inoichi searched his mind, he would know that Sasuke didn't have much time left. Sasuke was finally allowed to leave, but he was reluctant to leave the safety of the hospital room. _I have to go apologize to everyone individually_, he told himself, _it's the least I can do_.

Sasuke walked out on his now strong legs. He was still wearing his hospital gown. Sasuke noticed Sakura walking around a corner and followed her. He appeared behind her quickly. Sakura was startled, but sensed it was Sasuke and ignored him. She continued walking.

"Sakura," Sasuke said to her. She stiffened, but didn't turn around. "I really hurt you, didn't I?"

She finally did turn around. "What do _you _think, you _jerk_? What are you thinking? When I can finally move on without you, you reappear in my life! Just to ruin it again! Everyone has finally accepted the fact that you are a rogue ninja and you reappear! What's worse is Naruto still believes you can be a good person again! He's never given up on you!" She huffed and spun back around. "I have patients," she muttered.

"So, what? Have _you_ given up on me? Do _you_ still believe in me?" Sasuke asked. Sakura didn't answer. She didn't move either.

"Why did you return?" she asks quietly. Sasuke was speechless. _Why did I return? Was it really to apologize? No, because I would've been able to. Was it to check on the others? Return to my village?_ Sasuke sighed. "I don't know"

With that, Sakura left.


	3. What's a kid doing in the Uchiha Distric

Sasuke walked out of the hospital, ignoring the people who were obviously whispering about him. He walked to the boarded up Uchiha district. He hadn't been here since he was a kid. Sasuke ducked under the wooden boards and worn caution tape. The old faded bloodstains brought on a torrent of memories.

Sasuke walked stiffly to his old home. His gaze lingered at the cracked crest. The kunai had long fallen. Sasuke picked up the kunai Itachi had thrown. He went inside his house. It still smelled the same. He walked to Itachi's room. How many nights had he crept in here just to see Itachi's face? How many nights had he come in here during a storm just to curl up with Itachi? He felt something wet slide down his face. Tears. Sasuke walked to Itachi's dresser and took out a dark blue shirt and pants and put them on, disposing the hospital gown.

He looked around. Itachi's room was bare except for a picture of Sasuke and him together on his nightstand. Sasuke stared at the picture. His hands were wrapped around Itachi's neck, both of them smiling. Sasuke was standing behind Itachi as Itachi sat on the walkway outside, his feet hanging down the side. They were both smiling brightly, happily. Sasuke remembered his smile, the same smile he wore as he died in front of Sasuke.

"Nii-san… I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered. The full impact of how much he looked up to Itachi finally hit him. He doubled over, clutching his head as a wave of pain hit him mentally. Madara. He screamed, knowing no one would hear him.

Surprisingly, someone did. A little boy came in hesitantly. A wave of anger flushed Sasuke's face as he realized this little boy was in the Uchiha's district. He didn't belong here! Sasuke was about to talk when he noticed the little boy's pale gray eyes. Hyuga.

"Are you okay?" the little boy asked.

"Who the fuck are you?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah—" the boy grinned, "I'm Uzumaki Namikaze!" Sasuke's widened.

"Uzu… maki?" He asked. i_With a byakugan?_ /i Namikaze nodded.

"Hai!" Namikaze saluted.

"You're… the hokage's son?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. Namikaze frowned, but nodded. Sasuke remembered his anger. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Namikaze startled at his tone. "Ah—hm, Tu-san once told me his best friend and rival lived here, but then he left the village and no matter what Tu-san tried, he wouldn't come back. So, I—uh I like to come here a lot. There's a place in the back where there are woods and it's a good place to shuriken train. There're targets set and everything. Even one behind a big rock. There's also a big lake where I train too because it's peaceful here and no one bothers me."

Namikaze was speaking so quickly, Sasuke barely managed to understand. Sasuke looked out the window at the bloodstained buildings. He has never thought of this place as peaceful ever since the clan was murdered. Murdered…

"Who are you?" Namikaze asked, disturbing Sasuke's thoughts. Sasuke looked at him. Namikaze translated this into a glare.

"I—I mean, what's your name?" he asked.

Sasuke scratched his head thoughtfully. "Uchiha… Uchiha Sasuke." Namikaze's eyes widened.

"You're—" Namikaze exclaimed. Namikaze studied him.

"So cool," Namikaze finished just as Sasuke said, "A traitor?"

Sasuke startled at Namikaze's answer.

"Namikaze-kun… does your father talk about me a lot?" Sasuke asked. Namikaze nodded.

"He tells me stories about team 7 before I go to sleep. You guys have been on a lot of missions," he said, "My favorite was when you guys were in the land of waves and you and Tu-san were tree climbing and competing against each other and then you fought that ice guy, Haku, and you were both stuck in his jutsu and you used your sharingan to see him and protected Tu-san from his senbon. Oh! And before that when you and Tu-san and Kakashi-san were fighting that demon Zabuza and Kakashi-san was stuck in his water prison jutsu and you and Tu-san teamworked and saved Kakashi-san and you defeated him."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "That was your favorite, huh?"

Namikaze nodded energetically. Sasuke remembered something. "Namikaze, who is your mother?"

"She's Hyuga Hinata," Namikaze said innocently. Sasuke nodded. That explained the byakugan.

"Hinata, huh? She was always in love with Naruto…" Sasuke said, forgetting that Namikaze was there.

"Ehh?" Namikaze exclaimed, "I don't want to know all that lovey dovey stuff! Eww!"

Sasuke chuckled. He resembled his father so much. Sasuke ruffled his blond hair. "Kid, don't tell your father about our meeting, you hear?" Sasuke stated.

"Why not?"

"Because… because you'll get in a lot of trouble if he learns you're skipping school"

"Y—yeah, you're right," Namikaze agreed.


	4. Namikaze

Sasuke sat at the edge of the deck next to Namikaze in silence.

"Say, Namikaze-kun, how old are you now?" Sasuke asked. Namikaze looked up at him.

"Four," Namikaze answered. "Sasuke-san, can you teach me how to walk on water? Tu-san doesn't think I'm old enough even though I'm number one at the academy."

i_Four? And he's already attending the academy? He must be talented…_/i "Well, if your father doesn't want you learning, I don't think—"

"Please?" Namikaze begged, bowing his head. Sasuke sighed. He didn't want to butt into Naruto's business. Namikaze was Naruto's responsibility. Sasuke didn't want to mess with this kid and possibly corrupt him too, but Namikaze's blue shirt reminded Sasuke too much of himself as a kid, asking Itachi to help train him. "Fine," Sasuke sighed.

"Arigato!" Namikaze exclaimed, throwing his arms around Sasuke. Sasuke stiffened, his guard up. Namikaze pulled away. Namikaze glanced at his watch and gasped.

"Oh no! Ca-san will be coming to pick me up at the academy by now! Gotta go! See you tomorrow, Sasuke!" Namikaze ran off. Sasuke smiled. i_Namikaze-kun is skipping class, huh? He's just like Naruto… though he's at the top of the class instead of dead last._ /iSasuke looked down at the lake, at his reflection. He was surprised to see a smile on his face. It changed what he looked like. Sasuke walked in the direction of the exit, where Namikaze headed.

Kids were running around, heading home from school. Many adults watched Sasuke and kept their kids away from him as he passed.

"Konichiwa," he heard a young voice say. Sasuke turned around. A little girl grinned up at him. She had the red fangs of the Inuzuka clan on her cheeks. Her hair was brown and messy. She had a little brown puppy in her arms. i_Kiba's kid, huh?_ /i Sasuke wondered.

"Konichiwa," Sasuke greeted back, "What is your name?"

She giggled, "I'm Inuzuka Hotaru!" Sasuke nodded as if that was what he expected to hear.

"Sayonara!" she shouted, sprinting off. Sasuke watched her run away to a pretty woman with light brown hair. He recognized her at the last moment… Hanna.

He walked all the way to his old apartment, ignoring stares and whispers.

"He's that guy…"

"That Uchiha kid…"

"…wouldn't return… back now…"

"…plotting something…"

"…with Uchiha Madara…"

"…scared?...children…"


	5. Water Training

Sasuke got to his room and slammed the door. His room was dark and dusty. He flicked on the light. It's just as he left it… just dusty. Sasuke coughed as dust stirred into the air. He sat on his bed and noticed the face-down picture frame. He fixed it upright. He smiled at the old picture of them as kids when they were assigned to Kakashi. Guilt hit him again… it's all his fault the team got split up. Sasuke sighed, staring at his annoyed face.

He placed the picture frame of him and Itachi next to it. He was laughing in the picture, but he couldn't remember why he was laughing… something about Itachi. He racked his brain, but couldn't remember. Instead, needles of pain stabbed his mind again and he muffled his screams into his dusty pillow.

After the pain subsided, Sasuke dusted his room, cleaning it up. He went to sleep in his bed finally, seeping into the mattress.

The next morning, Sasuke surprised himself by walking toward his district, to the lake. Sasuke stood on the deck, waiting for Namikaze.

"Sasuke!" he heard the voice of Namikaze call out. Sasuke turned his head toward him. Sasuke looked out at the lake, the same lake he had learned the fireball jutsu at. Sasuke did the signs and thought, i_Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!/i_ He blew out a big fireball above the lake, illuminating the place.

Suddenly, he was seven years old again. Sasuke watched his father walking away, but instead of saying 'You are my son indeed', Namikaze said, "That was awesome!"

Sasuke smiled sadly. "Namikaze-kun, what is your chakra style?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. Sasuke stared at the lake in silence. Namikaze sat next to him, lapping his toes in the water.

Sasuke jumped out onto the water and motioned for Namikaze to come.

"You want to keep a constant chakra flow to your feet," Sasuke said. Namikaze stepped out hesitantly, one foot after the other. He stood for a few seconds then smiled.

"I did—whoa!" Namikaze splashed into the cold lake. Sasuke chuckled; he actually chucked! Namikaze sputtered when he surfaced, a scowl on his face. Sasuke pulled him up.

"Concentrate," Sasuke told him, "focus on the chakra at the soles of your feet."

They continued training throughout the day. At last, Namikaze was reaching his limit. Sasuke was impressed. i_He's great for a four-year-old!/i _Sasuke thought. Namikaze held his hands in a tiger sign, charging his chakra.

Namikaze fell into the water once more. Sasuke waited for him to submerge, but Namikaze didn't come up. Sasuke dived in immediately, looking for the little body. Namikaze was passed out, floating lower, bubble escaping from his mouth. Sasuke swam quickly, scooping up the kid. Just as he was about to break through the surface, he had another mental strike. Sasuke's arm shook, but he clung onto the kid, blindly swimming up. He brought his arms to the deck and set Namikaze down. His body shook, pain shooting through his head. Sasuke clutched his head, as his body dropped into the depths of the water, his lungs gasping for air, eyes shut tight. Suddenly, a hand grasped his arm, propelling him upwards.


	6. Threat

Sasuke was dragged onto the deck, choking out water, gasping for air. Sasuke blinked up to see who had saved him. A man stood over him, his face emotionless. Sasuke noticed his gray eyes… Hyuga. Sasuke sat up quickly, ignoring the throb in his head. His vision blurred momentarily from the sudden movement. Sasuke waited until his vision cleared then looked at the deck at Namikaze. Neji was kneeling down, holding Namikaze gingerly.

Neji turned and glared at Sasuke, hatred in his eyes. Sasuke put his hand on his knee and pushed himself up.

"What'd you do?" Neji growled. Sasuke looked at Namikaze limp body. His blond hair was flattened down by the water, eyes closed peacefully. Neji gently laid Namikaze back onto the deck.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied casually, "Just—" Sasuke muffled his groan as he felt his brain being squeezed. The pain subsided and Sasuke caught his breath. "We're just training," Sasuke replied, trying to maintain his cool.

Neji raised his eyebrows as he noticed Sasuke's change in tone. Sasuke glanced at the other byakugan user. He was watching Sasuke intently, his guard up. When Sasuke looked back at Neji, Neji's byakugan was activated. Sasuke scoffed. He couldn't lie now without Neji noticing his shift in chakra. "A Hyuga does not belong in the Uchiha District, let alone, itwo/i Hyuga members," Sasuke said.

Neji stepped toward Sasuke. "Neither does my nephew. So why is he here?"

"Ask him yourself," Sasuke said, refraining from taking another glance in Namikaze's direction. He looked Neji in his gray eyes, noticed his tense body.

"Don't trust me, do you?" Sasuke said.

"You've giving the village no reason to trust you and if you mess with Namikaze again, you won't live to see another day," Neji said.

"You think death scares me?" Sasuke reached for his kunai pack. Neji reflexively pulled out his kunai. The other Hyuga activated his byakugan and pulled out a kunai as well. Sasuke sighed and unhooked his pack from his belt, tossing onto the shore.

"Don't worry about Namikaze, I'll die a lot sooner than him," Sasuke said emotionlessly. Neji scoffed and put away his kunai. He started to walk away. Sasuke watched his hair sway with his steps. He watched as the Hyuga branch clan member walked away from Sasuke's beloved clan's district. Neji paused.

"And don't worry about your district… Namikaze-kun won't be coming here again," Neji said without looking back. That, more than anything else, hit Sasuke like a slap in the face. The other Hyuga followed Neji out, his eyes lingering on Namikaze. He paused for a bit, decided whether or not to get Namikaze, but decided against it after looking at Neji and ran to catch up.

Sasuke sat beside Namikaze, dangling his feet over the edge of the deck as waves lapped up against his legs. Namikaze's hair had started to dry and had started to stick up again. Sasuke sighed as he glanced at Namikaze's watch. i Time for him to go,/i Sasuke thought.

Sasuke nudged him. "Namikaze-kun," he said softly. He nudged him again. Namikaze opened his eyes sleepily, blinking up at him.

"Huh? Sasuke-san…" Namikaze looked at his watch. "Oh no! I have to go now! See you tomorrow, Sasuke!" Namikaze paused for a bit and sniffed the air.

Sasuke nodded, ignoring his alertness. "Yeah, good bye." Namikaze left. Sasuke lay back on the deck and closed his eyes.


End file.
